Ravensword and Other Unity Apps Rejected (Updated)

TouchArcade
reports that the eagerly awaited RPG Ravensword has been rejected by App Store reviewers, along with several other applications written with the Unity
engine. The engine includes API calls which, according
to one lawsuit, were used by Storm8 to steal phone numbers of people
playing the game and upload them wirelessly.

Unity acknowledges the potential exposure, and said it was a
carryover from the fact that the product was based on the Mono runtime from OS
X where those calls are used regularly (and user phone information isn’t part
of the system environment). They are releasing version 1.5.1 of their
development engine to close the security risk.

But from the long string of comments on Unity’s
forum, it appears that Apple is rejecting all apps using the earlier Unity
engine whether those apps do any networking or not. Meanwhile, developers need
to update their development software, regenerate their application, and
resubmit their application for approval—at the back of the sometimes lengthy
review process.

Neither Unity nor any app developers
other than Storm8 have been accused of using the API for illicit purposes.
Storm8 has acknowledged the acquisition of user phone numbers, which it described
as a "bug."

Editor's note: Jeff Temple of Storm8 let us know that the company has never used the two APIs that allegedly caused Ravensword
and/or other Unity apps to be rejected by Apple. Additionally, Storm8 is not based on
the Unity game engine and the company updated their applications in
August so that current game versions do not download, store or use
iPhone telephone numbers when a game is opened. To view a statement to
users outlining the proactive Storm8 has taken to prevent this, you can go here.